


Proposition

by chaoslewder



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: M/M, drunk merlin hitting on bartender arthur au, sorry if anyones severely ooc i dont do fgo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 14:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14833823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoslewder/pseuds/chaoslewder
Summary: local thottie meets local hottie





	Proposition

**Author's Note:**

> this is for betty
> 
> betty made me post this

Merlin wasn’t the type of man to drink to forget his worries and hardships, nor was he the type to drink to socialize, no matter how often he happened to drop by with Gilgamesh and Enkidu in tow. Perhaps the three of them did actually talk a lot, but it wasn’t like he was really paying attention—he came to this tavern for a special reason, a reason that he could technically fulfill on his own. **  
**

They were just there to make him look less like a creep as he filled his daily quota of Arthur-watching. It was a perfectly fine idea, he was ninety-nine percent sure that Arthur hadn’t caught on yet, no matter how suspiciously his coworkers glared at Merlin, so it was all very harmless, wasn’t it?

Night after night, he constantly stole glances (and the occasional shameless stare when he was sure that Arthur wouldn’t notice) at the young blond bartender. Recently he had been considering actually going up and talking to him, but it proved very difficult when throngs of college girls would usually stampede into the tavern before Merlin got off work. By the time he got here, Arthur’s end of the bar would be completely surrounded, and while it was probably great for the store, it was terrible for his heart. Sure, maybe Gilgamesh was right and he was just a coward, but if Arthur was going to reject him, he didn’t want it to be in front of a crowd of giggling girls.

Merlin finally got his lucky break the day that he got off work early due to a photoshoot getting canceled. Praising the gods for this turn of good luck, he dragged his two usual drinking buddies to their usual nightly haunt, ignoring Gilgamesh’s grumbles of annoyance.

“Why are you making us come with you again? Isn’t it your big gay chance to confess to that bartender you’re always making goo-goo-eyes at?”

“Yes, it is, but I want you two to be there so I don’t have to slink back into a corner all alone if I get rejected…” Merlin looked uncharacteristically nervous, and so Gilgamesh relented.

To Merlin’s delight, the area of the bar where Arthur worked was visibly devoid of flirting women, and he happily sat down in the seat directly in front of his crush. About two seconds later, he regretted everything.

He was so _close_. Arthur turned to face Merlin and greet him with the winning smile that was undoubtedly the bar’s moneymaker. That smile at point-blank range was dangerous. Merlin could barely even think of the next words he wanted to say.

“Good evening.”

“Gwuh-go-good evening, to you, too.”

“What can I get you tonight?”

Arthur was kind enough to completely ignore Merlin’s various verbal slip-ups and Gilgamesh’s sniggering and carry on with business as usual. Merlin felt his confidence gradually return with every shot he took. Which was often in between every short conversation he had with Arthur, just to make him courageous enough to keep it going.

“I’m a photographer, you see.”

“Oh? That’s very interesting,” Arthur replied, and he did seem genuinely interested. It made Merlin flush harder and nearly stumble over his own words to continue.

“I work with a lot of models…”

Enkidu glanced at Merlin, slightly alarmed. The white-haired man was swaying on his barstool now, with a rather stupid grin on his face.

“…and you’re far more beautiful than anyone I’ve ever worked with.”

Gilgamesh was guffawing into his tankard now and Enkidu seemed like he really wanted to be anywhere but here, but Merlin didn’t care. He couldn’t care less anymore whether or not he got rejected or even thrown out, he was here on a mission, and that mission was to make sure this lovely man in front of him knew just how goddamn lovely he was.

“…you should quit this joint, sign onto my agency, and, and…” Merlin squinted up towards the ceiling, the alcohol was really starting to kick in and he was worried he wasn’t going to be able to finish his next thought. It was a very important thought, definitely a thought he had often…

“…model for me. In the nude.” He beamed at the now pink-faced Arthur, proud at himself for managing to remember his very important thought.

“Oh, I don’t think so!”

In a blur of sudden movement, Merlin found himself being marched to the exit of the tavern by his armpits, a bartender on either side of him. One appeared to be a well-built blond man, while the other was a slight man with asymmetrical black hair.

 _Arthur’s prettier than both of you losers combined_ , Merlin smugly thought to himself.

As he was dragged away and tossed bodily into an trash-littered alley, he could faintly hear the voice of his dear, sweet Arthur behind him.

“You guys! Do you really have to?! I wasn’t going to quit anyway…”

 

—

 

Merlin blinked. A midnight blue sky dotted with faintly twinkling stars gradually filled his blurry vision. He blinked again, and his vision expanded to include a familiar face. Gilgamesh appeared to be sitting imperiously atop the dumpster in front of him, completely naked. Enkidu was nowhere in sight, and Merlin could not blame him.

“Gilgamesh, what happened?” Merlin croaked, while rubbing the crust out of his eyes. He weakly made to shove the garbage bags off his body, and eventually managed to awkwardly slide his way out of the stinking heap onto the pavement like some kind of hairy white slug.

Merlin lifted his face off of the asphalt, scoring himself an excellent view of Gilgamesh’s family jewels. Oh dear. Gil hadn’t done this since his frat boy days, and that already said a lot about the situation.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> credit to betty for the amazing fanart 
> 
> also thanks viv and betty for ur cafe camelot au doc which was my only resource for this lmfao


End file.
